LeBron Calls Himself a 'Triple Threat,' JJ Redick Reacts to Kevin Durant's Absence in Lakers' Win
LeBron James says it took being a "triple threat" to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a playoff-opening win over the Houston Rockets despite missing Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić to injury.
"I've got to do a little bit of everything. That's what the job requires," James said after the Lakers' 107-98 win Saturday night, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Just being a triple threat. Being able to rebound, being able to shoot, also defend. Put myself in a position where I can bring value to this ball club."
James continued, "I don't predetermine what I'm going to do. The only thing that's predetermined in my game is how I prepare. I prepare before I get to the game, and then, once I get out there, it's all about reading, reacting, understanding situations."
James recorded 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds while helping lead the Lakers in a defensive effort that limited the Rockets to 38 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent shooting from deep.
Marcus Smart, who contributed 15 points and eight assists, told The Athletic's Sam Amick after the win that James had been "more locked in" and served as "the calm before the storm" heading into Game 1.
"I think it's one of those things where what's understood doesn't necessarily need to be said, right?" Smart told Amick. "LeBron is the (league's) all-time leading scorer, leading in games, minutes — all that, right? He doesn't need anybody to tell him anything. He knows when it's time to get to it, right? And to be able to turn that switch on like not a lot of people can do. So we definitely didn't have (to wait) for him to say anything. We kind of already knew what was coming."
Smart also complimented the effort from James, who is now the oldest in playoff history to record a points-assists double-double, to keep himself playoff ready in his age-41 season.
"There's no way a guy at 41 should still be moving and doing the things at that level that he does it at, right?" Smart told Amick. "But being able to see how he prepares, it changes the mindset of, 'Oh, no wonder he's able to do it.' His body's never stopped moving. We have a thing we say, where it's 'If you don't move it, you lose it.' And that's him. He understands that, at this age, that if I stop doing the things that I was doing to keep me mobile, then I will be 41 and I won't be able to do it anymore."
The Lakers weren't the only team missing key players to injury absence. Kevin Durant was sidelined for the Rockets after coach Ime Udoka told reporters he hurt his right knee during a Wednesday practice.
Lakers coach JJ Redick complimented his players after the game for adjusting after learning hours before tip-off Durant wouldn't be in the Game 1 lineup.
"I don't think it affected our mentality," Redick said, per McMenamin. "Again, this is all we've talked about for two months, is just our playoff mentality. You can't worry about who's in or out of the lineup. It's our game plan, it's our standards, it's how we play, and we've built towards that.
"I thought our guys just responded well and met the moment. That's the biggest thing, you've got to meet the moment in every game, and they were able to do that. There's a lot that you have to do with Kevin, and you just kind of scrap that and you move on to all the other stuff we worked on."
The Lakers are now heading into Tuesday night's Game 2 in Los Angeles with a 1-0 lead in a series Smart told Amick he thinks the team can emerge victorious.
"I think having LeBron be able to not take on such a big role early on in this season is allowing him to do what he's doing now, right? So I definitely think we're going to surprise the basketball world," Smart told Amick.
Luke Kennard also played a major role in Saturday night's win by leading the Lakers with a playoff career-high 27 points despite being matched up with Amen Thompson on defense.
The Lakers will hope more aggressive shooting from Kennard and another complete game from James can help them win Game 2 whether or not Durant is able to slot back into the Rockets' lineup. Tip-off in Los Angeles set for 10:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.